Hello, my reader friends!
How is it possible that we are halfway through May? I cannot believe that this year is almost half over! That's crazy!
With May, in my opinion, comes the unofficial start of summer. Where I live, Memorial Day marks the beginning of summer activities and pools open up and it certainly feels like summer outside, too. Even though summer doesn't officially begin on the calendar until the end of June, for many reasons, May has always felt like the start of summer to me.
And with that, I've got summer reading on my mind.
What do you say we have a little bookish chat today?
I'm not one for high expectations or crazy challenges for myself in my reading life. But I always have so much fun perusing my shelves and pulling out a pile of books that I want to read at different times of year. Summer is one of those such times. I have pulled a dozen or so titles to inspire my summer reading hopes and dreams. Again, I'm not a fan of reading challenges or readathons, but I do enjoy putting together a little list for myself of what I hope to read. I thought I'd share my summer list with you today...
1. A beachy book.
Obviously, this goes without saying, but summertime just says beach to me. I have a handful of beachy novels on my shelf, so I hope to read at least one of them.
2. A mystery or thriller novel.
I absolutely love mystery and crime thriller TV shows and movies, so I thought it was high time I venture into that genre with my reading as well. I've read several cozy mysteries and love them, so this is just taking that love a bit further. And what's fun about this is that there are book series that inspired several of my favorite shows. I'd love to begin a book series to go along with a show I enjoy.
3. An armchair travel novel.
As a home-loving girl who isn't someone who loves to travel very often, I much prefer armchair travel. I have many books that take place in a variety of different places, so I'll see where I feel like traveling to next.
4. A Courtney Walsh novel.
Courtney Walsh is one of my go-to favorite authors for clean and sweet romances. She writes lighthearted, happy ending stories in such a fun way and I love everyone I've read so far. I have one I'm especially keen to pick up next. It's a sequel to one of my very favorite Christmas novels, and I'm super excited about it!
5. A Jenny Hale novel.
Jenny Hale has quickly become a favorite author of mine. I've just finished one of her books a couple weeks ago, and no doubt about it, I seriously want to read another one of hers real soon. She writes clean, sweet romances, filled with all the beachy vibes you can imagine. Perfect for summertime! (She also writes Christmas novels, but I've yet to read one yet.)
6. A magical realism novel.
(by a new-to-me-author)
I adore magical realism books! That has got to be one of my top three favorite genres! And while I have a favorite author in this genre (see below), I have a few books from other authors that I want to give a try. I'm excitedly hopeful to find some more favorites in this genre that I just cannot get enough of.
7. A Sarah Addison Allen novel.
Ms. Allen is a favorite author of mine, and she has been ever since I read my first book by her several years ago. I read another book by her in April and loved it...no surprise there. But I still have two or three books left by her to read...that is, until she writes another. I'd love to get another one of them read!
8. A slice-of-life novel.
These are often what I refer to as "village reads" or "small town reads". And what I mean by that is that there isn't some huge plot line or any crazy storylines or anything like that. Rather in these books, you are simply invited to join a gaggle of characters in their town and follow them around for a while and these are often some of the loveliest stories I read. I have a couple titles in mind for this on my shelf.
9. A Katherine Reay novel.
What can I say, but I want to read another book by another one of my favorite authors. I'm not sure if I'll be in the mood for one of Mrs. Reay's historical novels or one of her books that take place in small town Illinois. Either way, I feel confident that whatever I choose, I won't be disappointed. I never am with her!
10. A middle-grade novel.
I have a good selection of middle-grade novels, so I'd love to read one of them from my shelf.
11. A novel from an author I've been wanting to read a long time.
Over the last couple years, I've gathered a list of authors that are new to me that I want to try books from. I've picked up several books by these authors over the last while as I've seen them at good prices. I'd be just delighted to find a new favorite author!
12. A Nicholas Sparks novel.
I've seen most of the movies inspired by Nicholas Sparks' books. But I've yet to actually read one of his books. I'd like to finally do that.
There you have it. All my summer reading hopes and dreams. No pressure. No expectations. Just lots of reading fun awaiting me! These are all the bookish plans I have for May, June, July and August...and probably into September, too, because goodness knows, it's still very much summertime in September where I live. Perhaps I'll share little reading updates here and there, but I for sure plan on sharing a full summertime reading wrap-up sometimes towards the end of summertime.
May your day be a delight!